The Moon rides by Regulus, the heart of the lion on the night of Tuesday, March 3.

On Tuesday, March 3, the moon, now about 96% full will be seated next to the heart of the lion, Regulus.

Last week, the moon passed through the Bull, but this week, the moon will pay a visit to Leo. Separated by just four degrees in the sky, the bright star Regulus is really 79 light-years away, while the moon, only 1.3 light seconds distant. Regulus is the brightest star in the Leo constellation and rates as the 21st brightest star in the night sky and burns blue-white.

Imagine that when the light from Regulus began its journey to the Earth, the same year that Franklin D. Roosevelt won his second term as president of the United States and Margaret Mitchell published Gone with the Wind.

For this and other celestial happenings, visit my National Geographic blog, StarStruck.

Just after sunset, on February 27, Mars and Venus will slowly part ways in the western sky.

On Friday, these two inner planets will be appear about 2.7 degrees apart but over the next few nights, Venus will rise while Mars will sink into the sunset.

The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus will be about 5 degrees from Venus. Using our sister planet as a guide post, sky gazers with telescopes or binoculars will be able to spy the green giant. While Uranus is four times larger in diameter than Venus, our twin planet outshines it by 10,ooo times. Good Luck!

For more about this and other stellar events, check out my National Geographic blog, StarStruck.

As the moon moves through the constellation Taurus, by Wednesday, February 25, it will be paired with the red eye of Taurus, the star, Aldebaran.

Visually, the red giant star will be parked just about a half of a degree from the quarter moon making for a stunning portrait, however, the moon is only about 1.27 light seconds away from Earth, Aldebaran lies about 66 light-years distant.

For more about this and other celestial events, check out my National Geographic column, StarStruck.

Watch Mercury rise before the sun on Wednesday, February 25 for Southern Hemisphere Observers

Wednesday, February 24 will feature the closest planet to our Sun, Mercury.

Folks in the Southern Hemisphere will be treated to the best views of the rocky planet for the year. Just 30 minutes before the sun rises, Mercury will climb to 20 degrees above the eastern horizon. To the naked eye, Mercury will appear as a faint dot, but will stand out well against the sun’s glare when viewed through binoculars. Happy Viewing, Early Risers!

For more of this week’s sky events, check out my National Geographic column, StarStruck!

On Tuesday, February 24, the swelling crescent trios with two bright star clusters.

Nestled in the Taurus constellation are a couple of stunning star clusters, the Pleiades and Hyades. This makes for a brilliant grouping as the moon passes through the constellation of the bull. While the moon sits at 384,000 km away, the Pleiades is 300 light years away, and the Hyades 160 light years distant.

The faint Crab Nebula is a remnant of a Supernova observed 1054 A.D. Try seeing it on Friday, January 30 when the moon will help guide the way.

As the waxing gibbous moon continues its journey through the Taurus constellation, it stops by the tip of one of its horns.

This star known as Zeta Tau acts as a convenient guidepost to the beautiful Crab Nebula. This web of tangle of colours is the best known examples of a supernova remnant, the glowing ashes of a shattered star. The supernova was noted in the year 1054 A.D. by Japanese and Chinese astronomers.

Also known as Messier 1, this faint nebula will be about five degrees to the right of the moon, less that the width of three middle fingers held at arm’s length. M1 shines at about magnitude 9 making it just visible through binocular but an easy target for even small telescopes.

Thursday, January 29, the moon will slide close to Aldebaran, the star that marks the eye of the bull.

This red giant is a dying star that is about 65 light-years from Earth. Imagine that the light that we see today left the star in 1950 when Harry Truman ordered the development of the first hydrogen bomb and the Korean War broke out.

The moon and Jupiter will pair up while the star Regulus will help form a cosmic triangle.

Three beauties will form a celestial triangle in the sky late night on Wednesday, January 7.

The waning gibbous moon will be parked right next to Jupiter only separated by 5 degrees, that’s the width of your three middle fingers held at arm’s length. Forming the last point of the triangle is Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo.

December 11 will feature a trio of bright objects that form a triangle in the sky.

The moon, Jupiter and the bright star Regulus will come together to form a cosmic trio on Thursday, December 11.

Face the rising moon and you will be looking right at the constellation Leo, the lion. The moon will be marking the lion’s heart while the brightest star in the constellation will be Regulus. Just above the moon will be creamy-white Jupiter. While the moon is a little more than a light second distant, Jupiter is 40 light minutes away and Regulus sits 79 light years away from Earth.

Through small telescopes, skywatchers will be able to spy four of Jupiter’s moons, coined as the Galilean moons as Galileo is first discovered them in 1610. These seeming points of light will be lined up like ducks beside the King of the Planets. Viewers can train small telescopes onto the giant planet and maybe able to make out cloud rings and the Big Red Spot – a hurricane three times as large as the Earth!